As we continue to dive into our favorite musical pieces from this past year, I can’t help but offer my two-cents about some of the collaborations that have emerged.
The only thing better than a favorite artist is multiple favorite artists working together. I stuck primarily to hip-hop/rap projects. Here are my picks in chronological order:
“Grown up Fairy Tales” — Mike WiLL Made-It, Taylor Bennett, Chance The Rapper, and Jeremih
The reasoning behind this decision came rather easily. As I said earlier, the only thing better than one of your favorite artists is two or more of them, and this song features the vocals of both Bennett brothers and Jeremih. The song was a perfect fit for Taylor’s fourth official album “Restoration Of An American Idol“ which dropped in February. It’s definitely a slower song but the lyrics tell a powerful message about growing up, which is something everyone can relate to.
“Sacrifices” — Drake, 2 Chainz, and Young Thug
This is without a doubt my favorite track on Drake’s “More Life“ album, which was released in March. It’s a classic piece of work from the 6 God himself, and on top of that, we get a few verses from 2 Chainz and Young Thug (in my opinion, this is one of Young Thug’s best features to date). I highly recommend playing this song on those long cruises in the car, study sessions in the library, or basically any moment you deem fit.
“4 AM” — 2 Chainz and Travis Scott
“4 a.m., I’m just getting started,” raps 2 Chainz in the first verse, and boy is he ever. This is the fourth track on his album “Pretty Girls Like Trap Music.” The popular tune is 2 Chainz and Travis Scott in their prime, to say the least. I’m convinced that this one will live on as one of the most catchy songs of 2017.
“Bam” — Jay-Z and Damian Marley
This is easily the most slept-on song of the list since Jay-Z specifically chose to release “4:44” exclusively to Tidal and Sprint customers. He later released it on Apple Music, Google Play, and Amazon, but never on Spotify. As considered to be one of the hottest of the summer, “Bam“ is a track one can bump all year long. J-Hova and Bob Marley’s youngest son, Damian, combine genres to create an all-time classic that changed the game.
“Feels” — Calvin Harris, Pharrell Williams, Katy Perry, and Big Sean
Calvin Harris really gave fans a gift with “Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 1.” The album is packed with over twenty collaborations with various chart-topping artists. Not only is Feels my favorite song on the album, but it’s rightfully found its way onto this list. Before listening to this song, I would have looked at a Calvin Harris, Pharrell Williams, Katy Perry and Big Sean collaboration with skeptical eyes. Now, that’s simply not the case. Everyone and I mean everyone, can get down to this one.
“Street Walker” — Take a Daytrip, IshDARR, and K$ace
I’m going to say it right now just to make things clear: If a Marquette student hasn’t heard of IshDARR, he or she is missing out. Although this song belongs to Take a Daytrip, Ish and K$ace take turns making their voices heard. I consider “Street Walker” to be the wildcard of my list, so naturally, I highly advise giving it a listen. The chorus will probably be stuck in your head for days.
“Roll In Peace” — Kodak Black and XXXTENTACION
I will forever think of the first semester of my sophomore year when I hear this song. I’ve been on the Kodak train for a while now, but before this song, I wouldn’t have listened to XXXTENTACION even if someone paid me. That being said, this is a banger, and my mind has been changed for the better. XXX’s verse matches the beat perfectly and complements Kodak in ways that are unimaginable. This one takes the cake in terms of the best collaborations of 2017.
“Frat Rules” — A$AP Mob, A$AP Rocky, Playboi Carti, and Big Sean
A$AP A$AP A$AP. There is so much mob that it’s not even funny. This is another house party banger, as I’m sure most already know. Throw a little Playboi Carti and Big Sean in there too and there’s no telling what will happen. I can only imagine how much fun recording this one was, but I’m assuming it’s relative to the amount of fun I have every time I press play.
“New Freezer” — Rich The Kid and Kendrick Lamar
When Rich The Kid dropped this single in September, he made a statement. It’s one thing to release an absolute banger, but doing so with a Kendrick Lamar just puts an exclamation point at the end of the sentence. Their unique sounds combined in a way that made me wish it had only been released before the summer came to a close. Regardless, it managed to continuously make its way throughout the hip-hop/rap scene and rightfully earned a spot on this list.
“Modern Slavery” — Travis Scott and Quavo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxVGs9H3ZoU
This song is as fresh as it gets in terms of recency since their collaborative album “Huncho Jack, Jack Huncho” dropped three days before Christmas. That short shelf-life should not mislead potential listeners, because “Modern Slavery” is sure to remain timeless. Travis Scott and Quavo are two of the biggest names in the industry right now, and them coming together on a collaborative album is like mixing gasoline with matches. The Otis Redding intro was a perfect way to usher us into the project. The duet on the chorus was the icing on the cake. So be sure to grab a slice and see why they snagged a spot on this list.
For the courtesy of your listening needs the playlist featured below has all of the above-mentioned songs in the order that they appear on this list. Enjoy!
https://open.spotify.com/user/1219148026/playlist/7o0rxF2o42aOHwvlogGIZC
